HOBO’S BOUND FOR BRITT - 1900

HOBO

Posted By: CHERYL MOONEN (email)
Date: 12/12/2018 at 19:35:30

Evening times-Republican, Thursday, Jul 19, 1900, Marshalltown, IA, Page: 3

HOBO’S BOUND FOR BRITT
Mississippi Town Full of Tramps On
Their Way to Hobo Convention at
Britt

Special to Times-Republic

Clinton, July 19 – For the past few days this city has been full of hobo’s bound for Britt, Iowa, to attend the annual hobo convention, which meets on the 20th. In fact so numerous are the “Wandering Willies” that they attract a large amount of attention. Every Northwestern freight train from the east brings in ten to twenty-five hobos, to say nothing of the hundreds that are going through the country afoot, by the wagon loads. They sleep in barns by night and beg their food of the farmers. Those in the city sleep in box cars and wherever they can find a little shelter.

On arrival here the first thing they do is go down to the Mississippi River, where there is a fine shade tree just south of the Northwestern Railway bridge, and here they cook their food, wash up and enjoy the luxury of a shave, one of the hobos acting as barber. Your correspondent visited this camp yesterday and asked the side-door tourists why all of this brushing up? One of the old grime veterans of the tie path, who was lying on the soft side of a plank, looked up and said, “We’re fixin up for hobo convention goin’ to be held at Britt on the 20th. As all the boys ill be thar, we wanter look the best we kin.”